For about six decades, the United States has been tracking Santa's trip around the globe because of a typo.

The tradition began in 1955 when a newspaper advertisement for a Colorado Springs department store misprinted the phone number where children were invited to call Santa. Instead of ringing to the North Pole, the calls rang through to the commander of the Continental Air Defense Command.

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"The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole," the military explained.

Children who called that year were given updates on Santa's trip, beginning the tradition.

It survived the 1958 formation of the North American Aerospace Defense Command involving the United States and Canada, and NORAD continues to track Santa's sleigh to this day.

NORAD says they utilize a system of 47 interconnected radar locations, called the North Warning System, to track his launch. In the air, Rudolph's nose can be seen by satellites and used to track the jolly one's minute-by-minute position. "In most countries, it seems Santa arrives between 9:00 p.m. and midnight on December 24th," NORAD explains. "If children are still awake when Santa arrives, he moves on to other houses. He returns later…but only when the children are asleep!"